destination of female OFWs were UAE, Hongkong and Saudi Arabia. Of the total 858,000 female OFWs ll:,2007 according to the NSO SOF, 13.9% were in UAE,l2.4oA Hongkong, and l2.lYo in Saudi Arabia. n POEA data on newly-hired OFWs by skill group and gender in 2008 indicate that the most significant occupation groups in which females dominate are, ranked from the most number of deployments to the least: domestic helpers and related household workers (94.6% are female), midwives (98.4%), caregivers and caretakers (94.60/o), charworkers, cleaners and related workers (83.2%), building caretakers (82.8%), salespersons, shop assistants and demonstrators (79.3%), waiters, bartenders and related workers (62.2%), cooks, waiters, bartenders and related workers NEC (79.9%), receptionists and travel agency clerks (80.9%), bookkeepers and cashiers (88.5%), sewers and embroiders (95.6%), and housekeeping and related service workers (69.7%). These 1l occupations accounted for 37Yo of all deployments in 2008. Data from the POEA also show that historically just 3-5% of deployed seafarers are female. The 2006 FIES noted 1.2 million families in the country headed by females and receiving assistance in some form from abroad (compared to 3.0 million male-headed families). Out of these 1.2 million female heads of families 71,000 were divorced/ separated, 89,000 single, 513,000 married and 555,000 widowed. An estimated 600,000 were employed but a higher 627,000 were not. Overview of Filipino migrant workers in ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is composed of 1l countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. The region as a whole has a relatively low per capita gross domestic product (GDP); outside of Brunei, Singapore and perhaps Malaysia the ASEAN countries all still have significant poverty. Despite the countries' proximity to each other migration prospects are then relatively poorer than further beyond in Asia (such as Japan and Hongkong) and in other parts of the world outside the region. In any case it appears that migration pattems and conditions in ASEAN could still be subjected to greater research. The contiguous borders between many countries seems to result in large flows of undocumented and wlnerable migrants, sometimes to countries with poor records of upholding human rights.